December 10, 2024

Dominican Republic - Santo Domingo 

Our Port greeting into Santo Domingo on Sunday was one of our fanciest to date - dancers, musicians & artists performed, and they even had a free shuttle bus, for us to the walled colonial zone of town. 

Santo Domingo is the Capital of the Dominican Republic and is one of oldest Caribbean's oldest cities. Its walled, cobblestoned historic core, The Zona Colonial has buildings that date back to 1500s, including the Cathedral where I went to noon Mass. The Cathedral Nuestra Senora de la Encarnacion was the first built in the New World. The inside of the Cathedral was stunning, but photos were not allowed, so my interiors photos below are from the internet. I also had to put a provided shawl on my bare shoulders before entering for Mass. The 50+ person choir was spectacular. I walked around the colonial streets before Mass. Everyone was so friendly.   

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CORON, PHILIPPINES - Island Escapade Tour w /great friends!

By Pat Patrick • June 6, 2026
I am so blessed and lucky to have found such a great group of friends and to be do this amazing adventure! Today was fabulous, because of the quality time I got to spend with these individuals. We had no rain and some rare sunshine! Wave swells slowed our journey and some of our snorkeling energies, but I think everyone was happy at days end! Psalms Tours was again super flexible and provided outstanding services!

CORON, PHILIPPINES - Pearl class

By Pat Patrick • June 6, 2026
We decided to do something different and unique today, perfect for a rainy afternoon, we took a pearl class to make some jewelry! Delia, Terri, Suen and I all went to Pick a Pearl Jewelry Store on the main street of Coron . We each picked a frozen giant clam shell, that had been put in a fresh water farm to develop cultured pearls. The bounty of each shell was random, we averaged 28 to 30 varying size pearls and the colors were also random. I got a mix of white, pink, lavender and pale gold pearls. Terri went first and below is the step by step process.

CORON, PHILIPPINES - FUN!

By Pat Patrick • June 6, 2026
Due to stormy weather, we got an additional four days in Coron, Philippines since our intended destination at Boracay Island was an anchorage where our tenders would not be able to operate safely in the projected wave swells. No worries, we had been to Boracay before and there was lots to do in Coron . Many residents had good reviews of a local restaurant called The Lobster King, so we went with good friends to celebrate my buddy Stacy's Birthday!